


A Detailed And Poetic Physical Threat

by noblet



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Fallen Angel, M/M, Pre-Movie(s), Wings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-29
Updated: 2016-12-29
Packaged: 2018-09-13 03:25:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9104560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noblet/pseuds/noblet
Summary: "He's going to fall off of that damn ladder one day," Tendo had remarked over coffee, and Newt nearly choked on his bagel.(Or, the one where Hermann is a literal fallen angel and Newt tries to best to not gape.)





	

**Author's Note:**

> Just something stupid I wrote like a year ago and that's why the writing is rough. Title comes from a song called "A Detailed And Poetic Physical Threat To The Person Who Intentionally Vandalized My 1994 Dodge Intrepid Behind Kate's Apartment" by Pet Symmetry. I wish I was joking. 
> 
> I almost tagged this as crack. Almost.

It wasn't unusual to find Hermann crawling the borders of his chalkboards, brow creased in concentration, front of his shirt layered with chalk dust. It was like his second home. Personnel often joked about behind his back when Hermann walked into Mess, and Hermann, if he'd heard the comments, never denied it.

"He's going to fall off of that damn ladder one day," Tendo had remarked over coffee, and Newt nearly choked on his bagel. 

That same week, it finally happened.

Hermann woke up facing the ceiling with Newt kneeling on the floor looking down on him. He could feel the soft throb of a growing headache.

"Oh thank God! You're not dead!" He was erratic.

 _You have to be joking,_ Hermann wanted to spit the phrase into Newt's face. "Have I been out long?" He asked instead. Hermann was surprised to find that he was unexpectedly calm. He had fallen on his back, but he hadn't hurt his head too badly, and the pain he was feeling was nothing compared to the pain in his legs, which felt fine, by the way.

"No, no, not very long. Just long enough for me to run over here. You fell. Sounded pretty nasty. Can you get up by yourself?"

"I can try." 

Newt handed the cane over to Hermann, who used it to push himself up. He fell back down almost immediately.

"Uh, I take that as a no then," Newt awkwardly shifted by his side.

"No, no, it's fine...." Hermann breathed. "Just, give me a minute..."

"Hermann, you're really great and smart and all, but you totally suck when it comes to asking for help."

"I don't need help," Hermann spat. "I'll be perfectly fine on my own."

"Sure you are." Newt promptly scooped Hermann up, bridal style, leaving the cane behind. He wasn't very strong, but Hermann wasn't very heavy, so the combination seemed to work. "Your room or mine?" Newt laughed nervously.

"Mine. It's closer," Hermann said, accepting defeat. His face was turning red. He could _feel_ it. The fact that he was being carried by Newt was humiliating, and he prayed that no one would see them in the halls.

=====

Once inside the room, Newt slowly walked towards the side of Hermann's bed and settled him down gently. The mathematician winced as he attempted to settle in, but it was painfully obvious that he wasn't going to be able to walk anytime soon.

"I'm going to call the nurse."

"Wait, no." Hermann grabbed Newt's shirt as he walked towards the phone, which caused him to spin around.

"You could've broken something. It's best that-"

"Please, don't call anyone."

"Alright, if you don't want anyone else, I'll take a look. I'm not a _doctor,_ doctor, but I know a little. Take those layers off so I can take a look at your back."

Hermann stayed still, tried to calculate what could go wrong if he actually followed Newt's instructions.

"I can't let you do that," he decided.

"Why not? There's nothing weird about it."

Hermann bit his lip, turning face down into his pillow. There was nothing he could do. Newt would continue to insist, and he would have to agree. He was going to find out anyways. He rolled back onto his spine and took a shaky breath.

"I don't want you to think I'm a freak."

"For what? Hurting yourself? Do you remember that one time I got some K-blood on my arms and-"

"No, not for getting an injury. I mean... Turn around for a moment please."

And he did.

Wordlessly, Hermann hesitantly removed his layers, each one releasing a wave of distress in his mind as he pulled it off. When he was able to steel his guts and calm his breathing, he said, "you can look now."

Newt turned.

Angel wings. White. Pure, like snow. They twitched as Newt raked his eyes over Hermann's upper body for an uncomfortably long time.

"Are you done?" Hermann weakly piped up. His face was redder now.

"Sorry," Newt gaped, but tried not to. "That's-" He knew he could've gone off on a passionate tangent, but decided against it. "Really- cool."

Hermann scoffed. "You don't think they're strange?"

"Strange? We've literally got monsters the size of buildings crawling out of the sea and causing mass destruction and you're asking me if you're strange? I think they're absolutely magnificent, and I would never think less of you for having them. In fact, I have more respect for you for being able to keep it a secret for this long. Twelve years? And no mention of this?"

"Twelve years is a short time for an angel."

Newt's face nearly turned whiter than his wings. "Excuse me?"

"Angel." Hermann's voice was growing quieter by the minute. He was starting to regret this.

"You mean like, the ones made by God or something?"

A nod.

"Now that just doesn't make sense."

_Does anything?_

"I'm a Fallen."

"What did you do?" Newt asked. He was accepting things way too quickly.

"I criticized Him by telling him that humans had it too easy. They had too many resources, and they advanced more than we intended to. By the 1950's people were living well into their fifties. And now, due to modern medicine, people are living into their sixties and seventies. Did you know humans were only designed to live for thirty years? Don't answer that. Anyways, He got tired of putting up with me and created some challenge that endangered the human race and he said it would be up to me to save them. I remember what he said the day I was sent down. 'Until you understand the pain and suffering that humans must go through in order to survive, you will not be forgiven.' He took away everything I had except for my wings. They're intended to be an extra challenge for me, you see. He knew if humans found out, I would become a lab experiment."

"Wait, so God created the kaiju?"

"And everything else."

"So there's actually a way to defeat them?"

"That's why we're here, right?"

"I guess. You do realize I have more questions than before."

"I know that. As you could probably understand, I'm in a lot of pain right now and would like to be left alone. I'll tell you more tomorrow, alright?"

"Fine. For the record, as a biologist, you fascinate me. As your best friend, hey don't roll your eyes at me, as your best friend, I'm concerned. Are you sure you'll be alright?"

"I'm sure."

Newt paced towards the door.

Hermann didn't say anything as he left, but he knew he was thankful.


End file.
